Employers who wish to hire foreign workers to temporarily perform services or labor or to receive training may file a Petition for Non-Immigrant Worker. To learn more about temporary work visas, click here.

Permanent Work Visa

An immigrant is a foreign national who is authorized to live and work permanently in the United States as a Lawful Permanent Resident. You must go through a multi-step process to become an immigrant based on employment. The USCIS must approve an immigrant petition (application) that was filed for you, usually by an employer.

Important information regarding employment-based Green Card: An undated memorandum (1.5 MB .PDF) from USCIS’ William Yates rescinds a March 3, 2004 memo on concurrent adjudication of I-140s/I-485s, although concurrent filing continues. Previously, the Form I-485 could not be filed until the Form I-140 was approved, thus delaying the many benefits associated with the Form I-485 filing.

How does concurrent filing affect the filing for work authorization and advance parole?

Under the rule, immigrant visa applicants and their spouses, can also seek employment authorization and/or advance parole simultaneously with their concurrent Form I-140 and Form I-485 filing.

Who is eligible to file concurrently?

The interim rule applies to employment-based immigrant petitions under the First, Second and Third Preference categories (Section 203(b)(1),(2), and (3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act). Applicants with pending labor certification applications must await approval of the application by the Department of Labor to benefit from this provision. The following is a list of the types of Form I-140 immigrant petitions which benefit from this new rule:

· Individuals of Extraordinary Ability;
· Outstanding Researchers;
· Multinational Managers and Executives; · National Interest Waiver candidates (who hold an advanced degree or are of exceptional ability);
· Advanced Degree Professionals with an underlying approved labor certification from their sponsoring employer;
· Professionals holding Bachelor’s degree with an underlying approved labor certification from their sponsoring employer;
· Skilled Workers – i.e. are being offered a job that requires at least two years experience, with an underlying approved labor certification from their sponsoring employer;
· Other workers (unskilled labor- and who have an underlying approved labor certification from their sponsoring employer).

When is an immigrant visa petition and adjustment application considered to be concurrently filed?

There are three instances in which an immigrant visa petition (Form I-140) and adjustment of status application (Form I-485) will be considered concurrently filed:

1) Where the Form I-140 and Form I-485 are submitted simultaneously*, which is defined as:

· filed at the same time and mailed to the same Service Center;
· enclosed within the same single mailing envelope;q submitted with the correct filings fees;
· and received on the same day (at the same Service Center).

(*This requires the applicant to have an immigrant visa available).

2) Where a Form I-485 application is to join up with a currently pending Form I-140 petition, provided that –

· a visa number is available;
· the correct filing fee is enclosed;
· there is proof of the proper receipt of the Form I-140 filing receipt (Form I-797, Notice of Action); and
· it is filed at the same Service Center as the Form I-140 petition.

3) Where an applicant is in deportation or removal proceedings before the Immigration Court or has an appeal pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals. In the above instance, the same rules as in #2 above apply except that the filing of the I-485 must be made with the Immigration Court or Board of Immigration Appeals, depending upon which body has jurisdiction over the case.

In most employment categories (See EB-2 and EB-3 eligibility and filing information below), The Law Office of Paul B. Christensen can complete a Labor Certification request (ETA 750) for you from the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration.

If you are already in the United States, you must apply to adjust to permanent resident status when a visa number becomes available. If you are outside the United States when an immigrant visa number becomes available, you will be notified to go to the local U.S. consulate to complete the processing for an immigrant visa.

What Does the Law Say?

The legal foundation for getting approval for hiring an alien worker permanently comes from the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). For the part of the law that addresses employment-based immigrants, please see INA § 201, INA § 202, INA § 203 and INA § 204. Rules published in the Federal Register explain the eligibility requirements for individuals petitioning for employment-based immigration based on specific criteria. They are in the Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] at 8 CFR § 204.5.

Second Preference (EB-2 workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability): aliens who are members of the professions holding advanced degrees or their equivalent and aliens who because of their exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business will substantially benefit the national economy, cultural, or educational interests or welfare of the United States.

Third Preference (EB-3 professionals, skilled workers, and other workers): aliens with at least two years of experience as skilled workers, professionals with a baccalaureate degree, and others with less than two years experience, such as an unskilled worker who can perform labor for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.

Fourth Preference (EB-4 special workers such as those in a religious occupation or vocation): aliens who, for at least two years before applying for admission to the United States, have been a member of a religious denomination that has a non-profit religious organization in the United States, and who will be working in a religious vocation or occupation at the request of the religious organization.

Fifth Preference (EB-5 Employment Creation) See the menu on this web site entitled “Investment.”

How Do I File a Petition for Alien Worker?

The Law Office of Paul B. Christensen will be pleased to process your Work Visa Card application, on behalf of your employer. Our law office will carefully analyze your case and make recommendations on the most appropriate process for you or your company to pursue. We then assist with preparing documents and letters, continuing the case through the Adjustment of Status or consular processing stage, until the principal applicant and family members receive the Green Card.